$1.6 billion lost daily as Africans face water and power shortages, Labour protests.

By Victor Ahiuma-Young

The African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC‑Africa) has criticised African leaders, multinational corporations and global financial institutions for what it says is the massive siphoning of Africa’s wealth, while millions of citizens remain trapped in water, sanitation and energy poverty.

In a statement released on Africa Day from Lomé, Togo, the labour body said the continent loses more than $580 billion each year—about $1.6 billion a day—through corruption, illicit financial flows, tax evasion and profit shifting. At the same time, millions across Africa lack access to clean drinking water, electricity, healthcare and decent employment.

Signed by ITUC‑Africa General Secretary Akhator Joel Odigie, the statement reads: “Every illicit financial flow is stolen water. Every tax haven is a stolen sanitation. Every corrupt deal is stolen electricity, healthcare, education, housing, and hope.”

The organisation, which represents over 18 million workers in 52 African countries, urged that the 2026 African Union theme on sustainable water availability and sanitation compel governments to confront corruption and economic injustice with “honesty, political courage and urgent action.”

ITUC‑Africa noted that despite Africa’s abundant natural wealth and mineral resources, millions of households still rely on unsafe water sources and inadequate sanitation systems. It added that growing inequality is driving young Africans onto dangerous migration routes across deserts and seas.

“Young Africans continue risking their lives across deserts and seas in search of opportunity and survival elsewhere because too many no longer believe the continent can provide a future for them,” the statement said.

The labour body accused African political elites of turning public office into “an instrument of private accumulation, tax evasion and personal aggrandisement,” warning that democracy itself could be endangered if governments fail to provide basic services for citizens.

“A democracy that cannot guarantee clean water, sanitation, affordable energy, healthcare, decent work, and dignity for its people—while public wealth leaks through corruption and unfair taxation systems—risks becoming a democracy in form but exclusionary in practice,” it declared.

ITUC‑Africa also called for sweeping tax reforms across the continent, insisting that multinational corporations, extractive industries and the super‑rich must pay fair taxes to reduce Africa’s dependence on foreign aid and unsustainable borrowing.

The organisation criticised multilateral financial institutions and international aid systems, accusing them of promoting policies that weaken African states through privatisation, debt dependency and underinvestment in public infrastructure. It warned that Africa’s energy crisis remains unacceptable despite the continent’s enormous solar, hydro, gas and mineral resources.

“It is unacceptable that a continent endowed with immense solar, hydro, geothermal, gas, and critical mineral resources remains home to some of the world’s highest levels of energy poverty,” the statement added.

ITUC‑Africa urged governments, trade unions, civil society groups, youth movements and women’s organisations to unite against corruption, illicit financial flows and inequality, while pushing for economic sovereignty, universal access to water and sanitation, decent work and inclusive industrialisation across the continent.

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